New Zealand's making good ground in turning around its health and safety record in the workplace, but there's more work to do - and your mouth can help.
To fully embrace the problem and figure out the best ways to solve it, the time has come to talk about health and safety.
Opening up about it isn't always the Kiwi way, of course. We're stoic. We're also generally pretty focused on just getting on with the job and, sometimes, safety takes a back seat. In some organisations there can also be a bit of a stigma about pointing out problems.
That's part of the issue WorkSafe is addressing with its new campaign, aimed at getting New Zealand workers to realise their mouth is actually a very useful piece of safety gear, capable of flagging all kinds of health and safety risks in every industry.
Using your mouth is something everyone can do, whether it's a worker spotting a potential issue and bringing it to attention for safety's sake, or a boss making time for the team to come together and chat about potential risks. If we all start talking, we can start making workplaces healthier and safer.
There are helpful online tools that give you plenty to talk about with your colleagues.
Small to medium businesses can see the risks they face and how to combat them with everyone's involvement. Workers in farming or manufacturing can find very detailed help with managing risks. It'll be a genuine help to the way a business can operate, with Goud Milk showing how it worked for them.
There's advice on the benefits of having worker representatives, as well as health and safety committees. There are tools to help you engage your workers in the conversation, advice on employers' legal responsibilities, quizzes to take and myths to bust.
You can even listen to light-hearted ways to use your mouth in all kinds of workplaces. If you're looking for a way to kick-start the conversation around health and safety in your business, start here.